OFAC Sanctions People, Entities, Crypto Wallets Tied to Houthis
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned a range of people and entities for their roles in arms trafficking, money laundering, oil shipping and other activities that support the Yemen-based Houthis. OFAC said the designations specifically target key “smuggling operatives” and financial facilitators that allow the Houthis, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, to buy and move dual-use items and weapons parts.
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Among those sanctioned were Hashem Ismail Ali Ahmad al-Madani, governor of the Houthi-aligned central bank in Sana’a, Yemen, along with Ahmed Muhammad Muhammad Hasan al-Hadi, a senior Houthi financial official who coordinates and facilitates the movement of Houthi funds on the group’s behalf. OFAC also designated several money services businesses, Houthi shipping logistics officials, and other companies and people helping the group procure goods.
OFAC also said it “identified” five cryptocurrency wallets linked to Sa’id al-Jamal, a sanctioned financial facilitator for the Houthis who is backed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force. The agency said it added the address for those wallets to its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List.